IT'S ALL ABOUT SUPER JUNIOR

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

[Star of the Week] Super Junior-M′s Hidden Cards Henry and Zhou Mi

Super Junior-M’s mother group Super Junior and its members may be household names in Korea, but the average K-Pop fan may not be as familiar with members Zhou Mi and Henry, who joined the Super Junior subgroup in 2008 to bolster its promotions exclusively in China.

But as Super Junior-M has launched promotions for its new single Break Down in Korea as well this year, we’re spotlighting these two members, in particular, because their Super Junior cred deserves some recognition.

Zhou Mi

SM Entertainment is all about raising multi-entertainers, and Super Junior-M’s Chinese member Zhou Mi certainly fits the bill of an SM artist.

Zhou Mi has played a crucial role in Super Junior-M since the beginning, having written the Chinese lyrics for numerous songs on the group’s albums, including Marry U and A Man in Love from Super Junior-M’s first album as well as tracks You & Me and True Love from the group’s mini albums.

Not only has Zhou Mi contributed his singing and songwriting talents to Super Junior-M’s albums, he is steadily making a name for himself in the acting world.

While the other Super Junior-M members were dabbling in acting in Korea, Zhou Mi most recently starred in popular 2012 Taiwanese drama When Love Walked In opposite SM label mate and f(x) leader Victoria. The drama proved to be a hit in China, recording impressive viewership ratings as the most-watched show in its time slot while it aired.

Henry

We were first introduced to him as the kid with the violin in Super Junior’s Don’t Don music video, but Chinese-Canadian Henry Lau has risen in the ranks since making his debut with subgroup Super Junior-M in 2008.

And despite Super Junior-M’s relatively sparse promotions, the skilled violinist (the fancy bowing in the music video wasn’t just for show) has amassed an army of fans (or Strings, as they like to call themselves) of one million strong on Twitter, a feat that not many K-Pop stars can say they’ve accomplished.

Henry’s musical talent also extends to composing as he has contributed songs All My Heart and Andante to Super Junior’s fourth and fifth repackage albums, respectively, as well as composed, arranged and produced his solo track Confess on Super Junior-M’s Perfection EP.

He is also one-fourth of the newly-founded music production team The Noizebank, the creative minds behind tracks Go and It’s You on Super Junior-M’s latest album.

Although Henry may spend a lot of time behind the scenes, in front of the camera is where Henry truly shines. Before making his comeback with Super Junior-M, he was last seen in the music video for SM Entertainment project group Younique Unit’s Maxstep.

Unlike most idol stars, Henry also maintains a personal YouTube channel, where he showcases more of his raw musical talent—grainy webcam quality and all. Although slightly outdated (he’s busy being an idol star after all), it offers fans an uncut glimpse into Henry’s world.